Slightly off-topic, Chere finds time in the middle of scratching for a playoff spot to add more negativity for the team and for the fans - yeah thanks a lot, why don't you cover your stupid Rangers. TG would never be such an ass.

Elias is going to get similar offer as Marty got last year

I have similiar feeling that Elias will get a two year deal. But remember Marty had to fight pretty hard to squeeze that extra year out of Lou.

omg what? Elias IS an automatic slam-dunk that we HAVE to resign... can you really imagine not having him on the PP, PK, SO ? we already lost Zach in those area and its already hurting.

We're also already not scoring missing 20% of our scoring from 2011-2012, we dont have guys who should have a major jump in their stats either and who knows if we'll be able to sign good free agents, thats a huge risk.

with the loss of Sykora and Parise its 20% of our scoring gone (and not replaced), with Elias added to that its 34%... + Clarkson thats 47%.... and like i said who knows if we'd be able to sign anyone who can produce as much as those guys and we'd probably have to overpay too and we'd be in a pretty bad position.

We are not missing 20% of our scoring from 2011-12. Stop saying this thing like it is true.

It's not likely to work the other way when the guy is 37. Elias has an entire career of work - one great season might increase his salary, but not by all that much.

Most of the teams who are doing well now won't be able to afford Elias this summer.

I could see the Islanders paying him more than the Devils are offering. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Wang is willing to pull out the checkbook when he has to, and the Isles look to have finally turned a corner. Not to mention the move to the Barclays Center.

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I collect spores, molds and fungus.Hello fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you, thank you. If you vote me, I'm hot. What? Taxes, they'll be lower... son. The Democratic vote is the right thing to do Philadelphia, so do.How do you spot risk? How do you avoid risk? And what makes it so risky?

Sterio, the problem is you don't know how long Elias is going to be Elias. If he's willing to sign for one season, I would say yes, keep him. If it's for two seasons, if it's for reasonable money, I would probably do it. If someone else offers more, then sorry, I let him walk.

Just saw your last post Sterio...I don't think you can be a successful GM and be driven by fear (which seems to be your approach here) of losing this guy or that guy. At this point in Elias' career, he is clearly still a good and useful player...who is getting old. As we've seen with the Rolstons, it can go south very quickly with the 35+ types. Could Elias sign somewhere else for three years and be terrific? Sure. Would I be willing to gamble on it? No.

And though hockey is very much a team sport that doesn't come down to one guy, exactly how many playoff rounds have the Devils won with Elias since 2003? I only point this out because, even with all of the playoff appearances since the last Cup win, it's not like Status Quo has been so awesome that the Devils should just lock themselves into it...especially for a guy who, once again, is soon to be in his late-30s.

Regardless of what some may think of him, I think Lou is still confident in his abilities, so I think he has a price in mind for Elias, and if Elias can get more, Lou believes the Devils will survive if they have to move on.

I agree with this, but to add to it, imagine if Lou had panicked and threw money at Clarkson in February? It goes both ways. You risk losing a player, but you also get a last chance to gauge their worth.

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Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

We are not missing 20% of our scoring from 2011-12. Stop saying this thing like it is true.

zach had 31 goals and sykora 21 and we scored 228 goals that season... obviously I KNOW it's not as black and white and simply as that but it's still about 20% of our scoring gone. You need goals to win as you can't count on our goalies to win all those 1 goal games anymore.

I agree with this, but to add to it, imagine if Lou had panicked and threw money at Clarkson in February? It goes both ways. You risk losing a player, but you also get a last chance to gauge their worth.

if you're not tight against the cap that year plus the cap will go higher and higher.. sometimes you have to overpay... whats the good of having 13m in cap space this season compared to not having Zach let's say ? (not saying that as if i'd want his terrible contract) but it's still a fact that it's one thing not to overpay but you have to be sure you can compensate for what you're not gonna get anymore, sometimes its worth overpaying.

edit: plus Clarkson may be on a cold streak right now but honestly how many goals did you expect him to score in 48 games? pretty fair to say that he already filled his quota in everyone expectations. He overachieved at first and is underachieving now but when you look at his stats for the season, he's right where he should be and almost he's the only reason we had a 8-0-2 start too

if you're not tight against the cap that year plus the cap will go higher and higher.. sometimes you have to overpay... whats the good of having 13m in cap space this season compared to not having Zach let's say ? (not saying that as if i'd want his terrible contract) but it's still a fact that it's one thing not to overpay but you have to be sure you can compensate for what you're not gonna get anymore, sometimes its worth overpaying.

Mostly agree with this. At least during the season you are only bidding against yourself.

Cause we still havent been able to replace the "production" that we lost from last season and we're in the bottom of the league in scoring. So we already have to correct that through free agency this summer...

Now if Elias or Clarkson or Zub (or 2 or all of them) walks this summer and that we get nothing... thats even more production that you have to replace (plus things like guys able to handle a certain ice time, special teams and everything that we'd be losing.)

now look at the free agents pool... who could fill for those losses and that we wouldnt have to overpay? And who knows if that/those guys would even want to play here. We could try to sign every one of them and none would come. Now then we'd be in HUGE troubles. Plus we'd have to give up our 1st round pick that year...

Cause we still havent been able to replace the "production" that we lost from last season and we're in the bottom of the league in scoring. So we already have to correct that through free agency this summer...

Now if Elias or Clarkson or Zub (or 2 or all of them) walks this summer and that we get nothing... thats even more production that you have to replace (plus things like guys able to handle a certain ice time, special teams and everything that we'd be losing.)

now look at the free agents pool... who could fill for those losses and that we wouldnt have to overpay? And who knows if that/those guys would even want to play here. We could try to sign every one of them and none would come. Now then we'd be in HUGE troubles. Plus we'd have to give up our 1st round pick that year...

The cap is going down. There will be less teams able to overpay for these players and there will be teams looking to unload players, whether by trade or buyouts. The Devils shouldn't have much problem signing Zubrus and Elias. Clarkson may be massively overpayed by someone.

Also for all the dislike of some of Lou's more frustrating strategies, and even though I wish he'd lighten up on some things, I'd rather have him then not. He's even keeled. Very few knee-jerk reactions. Calculated risks. The "good" news is he'll be gone in a couple of years. Oh how fun this board will be if his replacement misses the playoffs a couple of years in a row!

Edited by Devil Dan 56, 10 April 2013 - 10:46 AM.

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Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

Well, Elias has certainly surprised me these past 2 seasons. I did not expect him to perform so well. While he won't reach 500 goals, it would be nice to have the first Devil reach 1000 career points, all coming as a Devil.

I agree with many here, nothing more than a 2 year deal. Which probably means Lou will sign him for at least 3 !!

I don't see any chance that Elias will sign elsewhere. He bleeds "Devil blood".

Elias like Marty will end as a Devil. Money won't matter much they've spent their careers here instead of leaving for money. I have no problem believe so again. I could care less if Lou maybe gave him four mill?or more?because he is the true leader on this team

Elias like Marty will end as a Devil. Money won't matter much they've spent their careers here instead of leaving for money. I have no problem believe so again. I could care less if Lou maybe gave him four mill?or more?because he is the true leader on this team

I'll admit I was wrong about Patty's ability to produce the last couple of years. That said, his age is an issue. It is weird that Patty brings this up. He's been with this organization for how long? Does Lou cave in to player demands especially griping in the press? Patty should know better. We'll see what happens after the season. If he signs elsewhere for a rich contract, good luck to him and I'll root for him as long as he isn't playing in MSG or Philadelphia. I'll trust Lou.

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Trip to the Finals, beating NYR and Philly in the playoffs...record crowds and interest in the Devils is at an all time high. It's not all Kovalchuk...but he has a lot to do with it.

Actually, this had more to do with a good team and goaltending than Kovy. Carter, Clarkson and Zach played far more pivotal roles, especially when it counted in the playoffs. Salvador was a shut-down defensemen and filled a big void at the blueline when it counted.

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I was wrong to ever doubt the powers of Lou Lamoriello.
IN LOU WE TRUST @Manta04

Slightly off-topic, Chere finds time in the middle of scratching for a playoff spot to add more negativity for the team and for the fans - yeah thanks a lot, why don't you cover your stupid Rangers. TG would never be such an ass.

Elias is going to get similar offer as Marty got last year

As usual, it's kill the messenger around here. Elias could have taken a pass but didn't. Maybe he's annoyed he didn't get the Marty/Stevens treatment since they were Lou's exceptions to the in season rule. Can't say I'd blame him, I think he earned that right.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

As usual, it's kill the messenger around here. Elias could have taken a pass but didn't. Maybe he's annoyed he didn't get the Marty/Stevens treatment since they were Lou's exceptions to the in season rule. Can't say I'd blame him, I think he earned that right.

Agree 100%. Elias will retire as the best forward in Devils history. He has earned it and is still our best all-around forward.

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I was wrong to ever doubt the powers of Lou Lamoriello.
IN LOU WE TRUST @Manta04

Actually, this had more to do with a good team and goaltending than Kovy. Carter, Clarkson and Zach played far more pivotal roles, especially when it counted in the playoffs. Salvador was a shut-down defensemen and filled a big void at the blueline when it counted.

Kovy was involved in just about every big play in the playoffs last season. Of course it was a team effort, but it's hard to argue any offensive player had a bigger overall impact.

Yeah kovy was the league leader in playoff points until the last game of the playoffs and he played with a severe back injury. He factored into nearly every big goal except for henriqes Florida winner. If he was healthy there is no doubt in my mind that we win the cup. He was our most important forward in the playoffs for sure.
EDIT: and when I say he factored in on every big goal I don't mean he was on the ice, I mean he got the primary assist or secondary assist. In most cases it was the primary